Surgical instrument sterile adapter with optical coupler

ABSTRACT

A connector system is provided to connect a carriage that includes a rotatable drive member to a surgical instrument that includes a driven member, comprising. a mechanical interface that includes a drive transmission member configured to receive a rotational drive force provided by the drive member at the internal surface region and to provide a corresponding rotational drive force to the driven member at the external surface region; and a support to mount an end portion of an optical fiber to the mechanical interface with a center axis of the first end portion aligned with an axis of rotation of the drive transmission member.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a divisional of and claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. § 120 to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/192,332,filed on Nov. 15, 2018, which claims the benefit of priority under 35U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/588,083, filed on Nov. 17, 2017, each of which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Minimally invasive medical techniques are intended to reduce the amountof tissue that is damaged during diagnostic or surgical procedures,thereby reducing patient recovery time, discomfort, and deleterious sideeffects. Teleoperated surgical systems that use robotic technology(so-called surgical robotic systems) may be used to overcome limitationsof manual laparoscopic and open surgery. Advances in telepresencesystems provide surgeons views inside a patient's body, an increasednumber of degrees of motion of surgical instruments, and the ability forsurgical collaboration over long distances. In manual minimally invasivesurgery, surgeons feel the interaction of the instrument with thepatient via a long shaft, which eliminates tactile cues and masks forcecues. In teleoperation surgery systems, natural force feedback islargely eliminated because the surgeon no longer manipulates theinstrument directly. Kinesthetic or force feedback systems typicallymeasure or estimate the forces applied to the patient by the surgicalinstrument.

Moreover, support arms of a surgical system typically are in closeproximity with surgical instruments during a diagnostic or surgicalprocedure. The servo motors, sensors, encoders, and electricalconnections that are used to robotically control the support armstypically cannot be sterilized using conventional methods, e.g., steam,heat and pressure, or chemicals, because the system parts would bedamaged or destroyed in the sterilization process. A sterile drape hasbeen previously used to cover the support arms to prevent contaminationof a sterile field by a non-sterile support arms.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a connector system is provided to connect an actuator toa surgical instrument. A drive transmission interface is configured totransmit an actuation force from the actuator to the surgicalinstrument. A first optical fiber is provided having a first end faceterminating in a first connector. A first alignment feature for thefirst connector is configured to interface with a first mating featureon the surgical instrument. A second alignment feature for the firstconnector is configured to interface with a second mating feature on thesurgical instrument.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the followingdetailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It isemphasized that, in accordance with the standard practice in theindustry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, thedimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased orreduced for clarity of discussion. In addition, the present disclosuremay repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples.This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and doesnot in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodimentsand/or configurations discussed.

FIG. 1 is an illustrative plan view of a minimally invasive teleoperatedsurgical system.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the surgeon's console of the minimallyinvasive teleoperated surgical system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a patient-side cart of a minimallyinvasive teleoperated surgical system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an elevation view of a surgical instrument.

FIGS. 5A-5C are an illustrative top perspective view (FIG. 5A) andbottom perspective view (FIG. 5B) and rear perspective view (FIG. 5C) ofa sterile adapter, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-6C are illustrative simplified drawings showing example ofstages of installation of a drape, sterile adapter and surgicalinstrument, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative simplified partially transparent perspectiveview of the mechanical adapter interface, a surgical instrument, and thecarriage, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative perspective proximal view of a surgicalinstrument proximal instrument controller and a portion of a shaft, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative drawing showing an optical connectorcomprising an optical fiber connector portion in a first housing on asterile adapter and an optical fiber connector portion in a secondhousing on surgical instrument, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 10 is an illustrative partial top perspective view of the sterileadapter showing a proximal portion of the first optical fiber passingthrough an opening formed in the flange drape.

FIG. 11 is an illustrative simplified side view of showing first andsecond optical fibers coupled together within a surgical field andextending between a surgical instrument in a sterile field and anoptical processing unit in a non-sterile field.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Teleoperated Surgical System

FIG. 1 is an illustrative plan view of a minimally invasive teleoperatedsurgical system 10 for performing a minimally invasive diagnostic orsurgical procedure on a patient 12 who is lying on an operating table14. The system includes a surgeon's console 16 for use by a surgeon 18during the procedure. One or more assistants 20 also may participate inthe procedure. The minimally invasive teleoperated surgical system 10further includes one or more patient-side carts 22 and an electronicscart 24. The patient-side cart 22 can manipulate at least one surgicalinstrument 26 through a minimally invasive incision in the body of thepatient 12 while the surgeon 18 views the surgical site through thesurgeon's console 16. An image of the surgical site can be obtained byan endoscope 28, such as a stereoscopic endoscope, which may bemanipulated by the patient-side cart 22 to orient the endoscope 28.Computer processors located on the electronics cart 24 may be used toprocess the images of the surgical site for subsequent display to thesurgeon 18 through the surgeon's console 16. Moreover, the computerprocessors at the electronics cart 24 may be configured process opticalsignals indicative of forces imparted at the surgical instrument. Thecomputer processor may produce haptic feedback at the surgeon's console16, for example. In some embodiments, stereoscopic images may becaptured, which allow the perception of depth during a surgicalprocedure. The number of surgical instruments 26 used at one time willgenerally depend on the diagnostic or surgical procedure and the spaceconstraints within the operative site among other factors. If it isnecessary to change one or more of the surgical instruments 26 beingused during a procedure, an assistant 20 may remove the surgicalinstrument 26 from the patient-side cart 22, and replace it with anothersurgical instrument 26 from a tray 30 in the operating room.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the surgeon's console 16. The surgeon'sconsole 16 includes a viewer display 31 that includes a left eye display32 and a right eye display 34 for presenting the surgeon 18 with acoordinated stereoscopic view of the surgical site that enables depthperception. The console 16 further includes one or more hand-operatedcontrol inputs 36 to receive the larger-scale hand control movements.One or more surgical instruments installed for use on the patient-sidecart 22 move in smaller-scale distances in response to surgeon 18'slarger-scale manipulation of the one or more control inputs 36. Thecontrol inputs 36 may provide the same mechanical degrees of freedom astheir associated surgical instruments 26 to provide the surgeon 18 withtelepresence, or the perception that the control inputs 36 are integralwith the instruments 26 so that the surgeon has a strong sense ofdirectly controlling the instruments 26. To this end, position, force,and tactile feedback sensors (not shown) may be employed to transmitposition, force, and tactile sensations from the surgical instruments 26back to the surgeon's hands through the control inputs 36, subject tocommunication delay constraints. Optical signals modulated based uponforces detected at force sensors (not shown) at the instrument 26 may beprocessed by the processors at the electronics cart 24 to produce hapticfeedback at the control inputs 36 that is indicative of the detectedforces.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a patient-side cart 22 of a minimallyinvasive teleoperated surgical system 10, in accordance with someembodiments. The patient-side cart 22 includes four mechanical supportarms 72. Each support arm 72 includes first, second and third supportarm segments 72-1, 72-2, 72-3 that are pivotally mounted end-to-end anda pivotally mounted support forearm 73. A respective surgical instrumentcarriage 75, which includes instrument motors to control instrumentmotion, is mounted at each support forearm 73. Additionally, eachsupport arm 72 can optionally include one or more setup joints (e.g.,unpowered and/or lockable) at the junctions of the support arm segmentsand at the junction with the support forearm 73 that may be used toposition the attached surgical instrument carriage 75 in relation to thepatient for surgery. The surgical instrument 26 is detachably connectedto the instrument carriage 75. While the patient-side cart 22 is shownas including four surgical instrument carriages 75, more or fewersurgical instrument carriages 75 may be used. A teleoperated surgicalsystem will generally include a vision system that typically includes anendoscopic camera instrument 28 for capturing video images and one ormore video displays for displaying the captured video images.

In one aspect, for example, individual surgical instruments 26 andcannulas 27 are removably coupled to the carriages 75, with the surgicalinstrument 26 inserted through the cannula 27. One or more teleoperatedactuator at the carriages 75 move the surgical instrument 26 as a whole.In one aspect, the instrument carriage 75 houses one or moreteleoperated actuator (not shown) inside that provide a number ofcontroller motions that the surgical instrument 26 translates into avariety of movements of an end effector on the surgical instrument 26.Thus, the teleoperated actuators in the instrument carriage 75 moveindividual components of the surgical instrument 26 such as end effectorwrist movement or jaw movement, for example.

A surgeon manipulates the control inputs 36 to control an instrument'sindividual components. An input provided by a surgeon or other medicalperson to the control input 36 (a “master” command) is translated into acorresponding action by the surgical instrument 26 (a “slave” response)through actuation of one or more remote motors. A wire cable-based forcetransmission mechanism or the like is used to transfer the motions ofeach of the remotely located teleoperated motors to a correspondinginstrument-interfacing actuator output located at an instrument carriage75. In some embodiments, a mechanical adapter interface 76 mechanicallycouples an instrument 26 to actuators within an instrument carriage. Afirst actuator (not shown), which controls a first motion of thesurgical instrument such as longitudinal (z-axis) rotation. The surgicalinstrument 26 is mechanically coupled to a second actuator, whichcontrols second motion of the surgical instrument such astwo-dimensional (x, y) motion. The surgical instrument 26 ismechanically coupled to a third actuator, which controls third motion ofthe surgical instrument such as opening and closing of jaws of an endeffector, for example.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a surgical instrument 26, which includesan elongated hollow cylindrical tubular shaft 410 having a distal(first) end portion 450 for insertion into a patient's body cavity andproximal (second) end portion 456 that is secured to a proximalinstrument controller 440. The shaft 410 includes a longitudinal centeraxis 411 (shaft axis). The proximal instrument controller 440 isconfigured to exert force upon wire cables (not shown) that extendwithin the shaft 410, in response to mechanical control inputs providedby actuators (not shown) within an instrument carriage 75. The wires areoperatively coupled so that movement of the wires may impart motion toan end effector 454 such as to open or close of jaws and (x, y) wristmotion, for example. Different instruments may have different endeffectors 454 that have different configurations of wires that requiredifferent proximal instrument controllers. As discussed more fully belowwith reference to FIG. 7, a mechanical adapter interface 76 can adaptdrive elements (not shown) of the carriage 75 to a driven elements (notshown) of particular mechanical adapter interface 76. One or more forcesensors 460 may be disposed at the end effector 454 or within the shaft410, for example. The surgical instrument 26 is used to carry outsurgical or diagnostic procedures. The distal portion 450 of thesurgical instrument 26 can provide any of a variety of end effectors454, such as the forceps, a needle driver, a cautery device, a cuttingtool, an imaging device (e.g., an endoscope or ultrasound probe), or thelike. A surgical end effector 454 can include a functional mechanicaldegree of freedom, such as jaws that open or close, or a knife thattranslates along a path or a wrist 452 that may move in x and ydirections. Thus, actuators located at the carriage 75 near the proximalend portion 456 of the shaft 410 control movement of the end effector454 at the distal end portion 450 of the shaft 410 by causing theproximal instrument controller 440 to exert forces upon wires (notshown) extending within the shaft 410 between the motors and the endeffector.

Sterile Adapter

FIGS. 5A-5C are an illustrative top perspective view (FIG. 5A) andbottom perspective view (FIG. 5B) and rear perspective view (FIG. 5C) ofa sterile adapter 502 in accordance with some embodiments. The sterileadapter 502 includes a mechanical adapter interface 504, a first housing506 that supports a first end portion of a first optical fiber 526, anintegral protective pouch 508, and a planar flange drape 510. Themechanical adapter interface 504 and the support 506 are solid materialstructures. The pouch 508 and the flange drape 510 are flexible,foldable structures formed of durable materials such as polyethylene,polyurethane, polycarbonate, or mixtures thereof, for example.

The mechanical adapter interface 504 includes a support structure frame509 that acts as a transmission interface that includes an internalnon-sterile surface region 512 that faces inward toward the pouch 508and an external sterile surface region 514 that faces outward away fromthe pouch 508. Figure SB shows the internal surface region 512 of thepouch 508. The support frame structure 509 mounts a plurality of forcetransmission members. In some embodiments, the force transmissionmembers include a plurality of rotatable drive transmission interfacemembers 516 mounted upon the support structure frame 509 to transmitdrive forces from one or more rotatable drive members driven byactuators of an instrument carrier 75 that can be disposed within apouch cavity 513 defined by the pouch, to one or more rotatable drivenmembers of a proximal instrument controller 440 that can be mounted uponthe external surface region 514 outside the pouch 508. Note that whilerotatable force transmission members are depicted and described forexemplary purposes, in various other embodiments, any other type ofactuation mechanism modality can be incorporated, such as linear drive,rocker/pulley drive, and gear drive, among others.

The support frame 509 also defines electrical connector openings 518 forpassage of electrical connectors (not shown). A distal side of thesupport frame 509 includes first and second prongs 517-1, 517-2 thatdefine a notch region 519 between them for passage of an instrumentshaft 410. The mechanical adapter interface 504 acts, not only to couplemechanical forces from a carriage to a proximal instrument controller440, but also as a protective barrier to block contaminants within thepouch from entering a sterile surgical field external to the pouch. U.S.Pat. No. 6,331,181, entitled “Surgical Robotic Tools, Data Architecture,and Use” at its FIGS. 7A-7I and corresponding portions of thespecification discloses details of an alternative example mechanicaladapter interface.

The first housing 506 (first housing) is integrally formed with anupstanding guide wall 520 that upstands from the external surface region514 at a proximal peripheral portion of the support frame 509. Moreparticularly, the first housing 506 upstands from a base portion 521 ofthe upstanding guide wall 520 and defines an internal first housingcavity indicated by dashed lines 522 to receive a first opticalconnector portion (not shown). The first housing 506 defines a firsthole 524 near the base portion 521 of the upstanding guide wall 520adjacent the external surface region 514 of the support frame 509 sizedfor passage of a first optical fiber 526. The first housing 506 aligns afirst optical connector portion (not shown) disposed within the firsthousing cavity 522 parallel with the axes of rotation of the rotatabledrive transmission interface members 516. The first housing 506 definesa second hole 528 sized for passage of an end portion of second opticalfiber, explained below. The first housing 506 extends partway along adistal surface (facing the external surface region 514) of theupstanding guide wall 520 in alignment with a first alignment groove 530defined by the upstanding guide wall 520 that extends between the secondhole 528 formed in the first housing 506. and an outer peripheral rim532 of the upstanding guide wall 520. The first alignment groove 530acts as a first alignment feature to provide coarse alignment with anoptical connector portion housing 702 (second housing) that acts as afirst mating feature of a proximal instrument controller 440 of asurgical instrument 26.

The pouch 508 is bonded to an outer perimeter of the support frame 509and defines the pouch cavity 513 sized to fit a carriage 75. Moreparticularly, the pouch 506 defines a proximal opening 534 sized forpassage of a carriage 75. During installation, a user can slide thepouch over the carriage through the pouch opening 534. The pouch cavity513 has an inner contour shaped to generally match the shape of thecarriage 75 and to fit loosely about the carriage, which is mounted on asupport forearm 73. The pouch 508 follows the contours of the notchregion 519 and defines an elongated notch-channel 536 that provides athree-sided protective barrier between an instrument shaft 410 and acarriage 75 within the pouch cavity 513. The pouch 508 encloses acarriage 75 to act as a protective barrier to block contaminants on thecarriage 75 within the pouch 508 from entering a sterile surgical fieldexternal to the pouch 508.

The peripheral flange drape 510 extends outward from a proximal portionof the pouch behind the upstanding guide wall 520. The flange drape 510extends outward from the proximal opening 534 in the pouch 508 and maybe positioned against an external surface of another protective drape,explained below, that extends over a support forearm 73 to providedadded isolation of a non-sterile carriage 75 inside the pouch 508 from asterile surgical field outside the pouch 508. Moreover, the upstandingguide wall 520 may be secured against a support forearm 73 with a strap(not shown), for example, to more firmly secure the peripheral flangedrape 510, which extends outwardly behind upstanding guide wall 520,against the support forearm 73 to further isolate a carriage 75 withinthe pouch 508 from a sterile external sterile field.

Overview of Mounting a Sterile Adapter and a Surgical Instrument

FIGS. 6A-6C are illustrative simplified drawings showing example ofstages of installation of a drape, sterile adapter and surgicalinstrument. In each of these three drawings, a protective drape 602 isshown installed over a surgical system support arm 72. The drape 602 maybe comprised of the same durable materials as the pouch 508. The supportarm drape 602 may include multiple component drapes. U.S. Pat. No.9,320,568, entitled “Sterile Surgical Drape” discloses sterile drapes inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6A is an illustrative simplified side view showing installation ofa protective drape 602 integrally formed with the sterile adapter pouch508 over a support arm 72 with a sterile adapter 502 installed upon acarriage 75 mounted to the support arm 72. A cannula support 604 also ismounted upon the support arm 72, and the drape 602 covers cannulasupport 604. The drape 602 includes a sterile external surface thatfaces a sterile surgical field outside the drape. The drape 602 includesa non-sterile interior surface that faces the non-sterile support arm 72covered beneath by the drape 602. Thus, it will be appreciated that asindicated by arrow 606, the drape 602 and the sterile adapter pouch 508form a continuous protective barrier that may be installed over thecarriage 75, a support forearm 73 on which the carriage 75 is mounted,and the support arm 72 on which the support forearm 73 is mounted.

FIG. 6B is an illustrative simplified side view showing the drape 602installed over the support arm 72 and showing the sterile adapter 502installed over the carriage 75. As explained above, the pouch 508defines a pouch cavity 513 to receive the non-sterile carriage 75. Theproximal flange drape 510 overlays an outer sterile portion of the drape602 that in turn overlays a support forearm 73 on which the carriage 75is mounted. Thus, the flange drape 510 provides a protective barrierbetween the pouch opening 534 through which the carriage 75 extends andthe sterile field. Thus, the drape 602 in conjunction with the sterileadapter 502 with its pouch 508 maintain a sterile barrier between thesupport arm 72 and a sterile surgical field where a surgical proceduremay be performed.

FIG. 6C is an illustrative simplified side view drawing showing thedrape 602 installed over the support arm 72, showing the sterile adapter502 installed over the carriage 75, and showing the surgical instrument26 mounted upon the sterile adapter. The dashed lines 608 representpassage of a portion of the instrument shaft 410 within a groove definedby the carriage 75 and by the sterile adapter 502. It can be seen that adistal portion of the surgical instrument shaft extends within a sterilecannula 610 mounted to the cannula support 604 which is encompassedwithin the drape 602.

Optical and Mechanical Alignment

FIG. 7 is an illustrative simplified partially transparent perspectiveview of the mechanical adapter interface 504, a surgical instrument 26,and a portion of a carriage 75 in accordance with some embodiments. FIG.7 shows alignment of an optical connector portion housing 506 (firsthousing) on the mechanical adapter interface 504 with an opticalconnector portion housing 702 (second housing) on a proximal instrumentcontroller 440 of the surgical instrument 26. FIG. 7 also indicatesalignment of rotatable drive members 708 of the carriage 75 with therotatable drive transmission interface members 516 of the mechanicaladapter interface 504 and alignment of the rotatable drive transmissioninterface members 516 with rotatable driven members 710 of the proximalinstrument controller 440. Arrow 712 indicates that during installationof the surgical instrument upon the mechanical adapter interface 504, anend face portion 526E of the first optical fiber 526 that extends withinthe first housing 506 is aligned with an end face portion 718E of asecond optical fiber 718 that extends within the second housing 702.Arrow 720 indicates that during installation, the rotatable drivetransmission members 516 mounted on the mechanical adapter interface 504are aligned with the rotatable driven members 710 mounted to anengagement face of the proximal instrument controller 440. Arrow 722indicates that during installation, the rotatable drive transmissionmembers 516 mounted on the mechanical adapter interface 504 are alignedwith the rotatable drive members 708 mounted to an engagement face ofthe carriage 75.

The first optical fiber 526 extends through a first hole 524 formed inthe upstanding guide wall 520. A proximal portion of the first opticalfiber 526-p is disposed on a proximal side of the upstanding guide wall520 and a distal portion of the first optical fiber 526-d is disposed ona distal side of the upstanding guide wall 520. The distal side portionof the first optical fiber 526-d enters the first housing 506 throughthe first hole 524 near the base portion of the upstanding guide wall520 and extends within the first housing 506, as indicated by dashedlines 526, perpendicular to the mechanical adapter interface supportframe internal and external surfaces 512, 514.

The second optical fiber 718 extends between a distal end portion 450and a proximal end portion 456 of a surgical instrument shaft 410 andextends between the proximal end portion 456 of the surgical instrumentshaft and the second housing 702. The shaft 410 and the proximalinstrument controller 440 are shown partially transparent with otherinternal components invisible in order to simplify the explanation ofthe path of the second optical fiber 718. The second optical fiber 718may be used to transmit optical signals indicative of force imparted toan end effector 454 and/or to the instrument shaft 410. Force may besensed using fiber Bragg grating sensors 460-FBG, for example. Thesecond optical fiber 718 extends into the second housing 702 through afourth hole 726 formed in the second housing 702 and extends within thesecond housing 702 perpendicular to the to a shaft axis 411 the shaft.The end face portion 718E of the second fiber 718 extends out from afifth hole 728 formed in the second housing 702. A proximal surface ofthe proximal control mechanism 440 defines a second alignment groove 730aligned with the fifth hole 728 and the end face portion 718E of thesecond fiber 718 that protrudes from it.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative perspective proximal view of a surgicalinstrument proximal instrument controller 440 and a portion of a shaft410, in accordance with some embodiments. An end face portion 718E ofthe second optical fiber 718 is shown protruding from the fifth hole 728formed in the second housing 702. The end face portion 718E of thesecond optical fiber 718 extends outward from the fifth hole 728 inalignment with the second alignment groove 730 formed in the proximalsurface region 732 of the proximal instrument controller 440. It will beappreciated from FIGS. 7-8 that the second alignment groove 730 aids inalignment of an outer surface of the first housing 506 and the firstalignment groove 530 aids in alignment of an outer surface of the secondhousing 702 such that the end face portion 718E of the second opticalcable 718 that protrudes from the second housing 702 aligns with the endface portion 526E of the first optical fiber 526 that extends within thefirst housing 506.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative drawing showing an optical connector 902 inwhich the first and second optical connector portions 904, 906 cooperateto align end faces portions 526E,718E of the first and second opticalfibers 526, 718 so that they may transmit optical signals between them.The first housing 506 defines a first housing cavity 908 in which afirst guide sleeve 910, a first ferrule 912, and a first spring 914 aremounted. The first optical fiber 526 extends through the first hole 524formed in the first housing 506 to access the first housing cavity 908.The first ferrule 912 engages an end portion of the first optical fiber526 disposed within the first housing cavity 908 such that an end faceportion 526E of the first optical fiber 526 is aligned with an end tipportion 911 of the first ferrule 912 and with the first hole 524 formedin the first housing 506. The first ferrule 912 is slideably mountedwithin the first guide sleeve 910. The first spring 914 is mounted upona first shoulder 916 within the first housing 702 and configured to urgethe first ferrule 912 into the first guide sleeve 910. The first ferrule912 includes a stop surface 918 that engages a second shoulder 920within the first housing 702 to limit its range of motion within thefirst guide sleeve 910.

The second housing 702 defines a second housing cavity 930 in which asecond guide sleeve 932, a second ferrule 934, and a second spring 936are mounted. The second optical fiber 918 accesses through the fourthhole 726 formed in the second housing 702. The second ferrule 934engages end face portion 718E of a second optical fiber 718 disposedwithin the second housing cavity 930 such that an end face portion 718Eof the second optical fiber 718 is aligned with an end tip portion 711of the second ferrule 934. The end face portion 718E of the secondoptical fiber 718 and the tip portion 711 of the second ferrule 934protrude out through the fifth hole 728 formed in the second housing702. The second ferrule 934 is slideably mounted within the second guidesleeve 932. The second spring 936 is mounted upon a third shoulder 938within the second housing 702 and configured to urge the second ferrule934 into the second guide sleeve 932. The second ferrule 934 includes astop surface 940 that engages a fourth shoulder 942 within the secondhousing 702 to limit its range of motion within the second guide sleeve932. The first guide sleeve 910 acts as a second alignment feature toprovide fine alignment with the second ferrule 934 that acts as a secondmating feature of a proximal instrument controller 440 of a surgicalinstrument 26.

In accordance with some embodiments, the second ferrule 934 isconfigured to extend outward through the fifth hole 728. When the firstand second housings 506, 702 are aligned using the first and secondalignment grooves 530,730, the second ferrule 934 and the second opticalfiber end face portion 718E project into the second hole 528 formed inthe first housing 506. The first and second springs 914, 936 urge thefirst and second optical fiber end faces 526E, 718E into abuttingcontact. The end faces 526E, 718E of the first and second optical fibers526, 718 are polished such that optical signals can be transmittedbetween the first and second optical fibers 526, 718 while their endfaces 526E, 718E abut. The first guide sleeve 910 acts as a secondalignment feature to provide fine alignment with the second ferrule 934that acts as a second mating feature of a proximal instrument controller440 of a surgical instrument 26. The end tip portion 911 of the firstferrule 912 acts as third alignment feature to provide alignment withthe end tip portion 711 of the second ferrule 934 that acts as a thirdmating feature of a proximal instrument controller 440 of a surgicalinstrument 26.

FIG. 10 is an illustrative partial top perspective view of the sterileadapter 502 showing a proximal portion 526-P of the first optical fiber526 passing through an opening 1002 formed in the flange drape 510. Theflange drape 510 is shown bent away from the upstanding guide wall 520to better show the opening 1002 in the flange drape 510. The opening1002 may include a slot-hole through which the proximal portion 526-P ofthe first optical fiber 526 may be inserted. To protect againstcontamination, the slot 1002 may be sealed with an adhesive strip (notshown) once the proximal portion 526-P of the first optical fiber 526 isinserted through it. A distal side of the flange drape 510 (i.e. a sideof the flange drape that is adjacent the upstanding guide wall 520) isdisposed in the sterile field. Thus, a proximal portion 526-P of thefirst optical fiber 526 on the distal side of the flange drape 510 isdisposed within the sterile field. However, a proximal side of theflange drape 510 may become exposed to a non-sterile region. A proximalportion 526-P of the first optical fiber 526 disposed on the proximalside of the flange drape 510 extends inside the non-sterile cavitydefined by the drape so as to reach processors located on theelectronics cart 24 to process optical signals transmitted on the firstand second optical fibers 526, 718. An optical coupler at an end of thesecond optical fiber within the non-sterile region may couple the secondoptical fiber for processing optical signals.

FIG. 11 is an illustrative simplified side view of showing first andsecond optical fibers 526, 718, coupled extending between a surgicalinstrument 26 in a sterile field and an optical processing unit 24 in anon-sterile field. The second optical fiber 718 extends along thesterile surgical instrument shaft 410. In some embodiments, the secondoptical fiber 526 extends inside the shaft 410. Force sensors such asfiber Bragg gratings formed in the second optical fiber 718 may produceoptical signals within the second optical fiber 718 indicative of forceimparted to the surgical instrument 26. The first and second opticalfibers 526, 718 are optically coupled, within a sterile field at aphysical junction of the sterile adapter 502 and the surgical instrument26. The first and second optical fibers 526, 718 are coupled by anoptical connector 902 comprising a first optical connector portion 904on the sterile adapter 502 and a second optical connector portion 906 onthe surgical instrument 26. The first optical fiber 526 extends frominside the sterile field, through the flange drape 510, and into anon-sterile field enclosed within the support arm drape 602, to reach anoptical coupler 1102 to couple it to the processing system 24.

Although illustrative embodiments have been shown and described, a widerange of modification, change and substitution is contemplated in theforegoing disclosure and in some instances, some features of theembodiments may be employed without a corresponding use of otherfeatures. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize manyvariations, alternatives, and modifications. As explained above, forexample, engagement mechanisms other than rotatable drive members 708,rotatable drive transmission members 516, and rotatable driven members710 may be used to transmit drive forces, and consequently in suchalternative embodiments, the optical connector portions 904, 906 may notbe aligned with rotatable axes of such drive, interface and drivenmembers 708, 516, 710. Thus, the scope of the disclosure should belimited only by the following claims, and it is appropriate that theclaims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope ofthe embodiments disclosed herein. The above description is presented toenable any person skilled in the art to create and use a surgicalinstrument sterile adapter with optical coupler. Various modificationsto the embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art,and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to otherembodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention. In the preceding description, numerous details are setforth for the purpose of explanation. However, one of ordinary skill inthe art will realize that the invention might be practiced without theuse of these specific details. In other instances, well-known processesare shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the descriptionof the invention with unnecessary detail. Identical reference numeralsmay be used to represent different views of the same or similar item indifferent drawings. Thus, the foregoing description and drawings ofembodiments in accordance with the present invention are merelyillustrative of the principles of the invention. Therefore, it will beunderstood that various modifications can be made to the embodiments bythose skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention, which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A connector system to connect an actuator to asurgical instrument, comprising: a drive transmission interfaceconfigured to transmit an actuation force from the actuator to thesurgical instrument; a first optical fiber connector portion; a firstalignment feature for the first optical fiber connector portion, thefirst alignment feature configured to interface with a first matingfeature on the surgical instrument; and a second alignment feature forthe first optical fiber connector portion, the second alignment featureconfigured to interface with a second mating feature on the surgicalinstrument.
 2. The connector system of claim 1, wherein the firstalignment feature provides coarse alignment and the second alignmentfeature provides fine alignment for the first optical fiber.
 3. Theconnector system of claim 2, further comprising a third alignmentfeature for the first optical fiber connector portion, the thirdalignment feature configured to interface with a third mating feature onthe surgical instrument.
 4. The connector system of claim 1, furthercomprising a flexible drape for establishing a sterile barrier betweenat least a portion of the surgical instrument and the actuator.
 5. Theconnector system of claim 4, further comprising a flexible pouch thatdepends from the transmission interface to define a pouch cavityintegrally formed with the flexible drape.
 6. The connector system ofclaim 1, further including: a flexible drape for establishing a sterilebarrier between at least a portion of the surgical instrument and theactuator; a flexible pouch that depends from the transmission interfaceto define a pouch cavity integrally formed with the flexible drape; anda wall upstanding from the transmission interface defining a passagewayhole through which a portion of the first optical fiber extends.
 7. Theconnector system of claim 1, wherein the transmission interface includesa plurality of force transmission members configured to transmit anactuation force from the actuator to the surgical instrument.
 8. Theconnector system of claim 1, a guide wall upstanding from the drivetransmission interface; wherein the first alignment feature includes afirst groove formed in the guide wall; wherein the first optical fiberconnector portion is arranged within the first groove.
 9. The connectorsystem of claim 8, wherein the first optical fiber connector includes afirst guide sleeve and a first ferrule that extends within a portion ofthe first guide sleeve; wherein the second alignment feature includesthe first guide sleeve; a first optical fiber that extends within thefirst ferule.
 10. A connector system to connect an actuator to asurgical instrument, comprising: a drive transmission interfaceconfigured to receive an actuation force from the actuator and totransmit the actuation force; a first optical fiber connector portionthat includes a first guide sleeve and a first ferrule that locatedwithin the first guide sleeve; a first optical fiber that extends withinthe first ferule; an instrument controller configured to receive theactuation force transmitted by the drive transmission interface; asecond optical fiber connector portion that includes a second guidesleeve and a second ferrule that protrudes from the second guide sleeve;wherein the first guide sleeve is configured to interface with thesecond ferrule to provide alignment of the first and second opticalfibers.
 11. The connector system of claim 10 further including: a guidewall upstanding from the drive transmission interface; and an alignmentfeature located at the guide wall; wherein the alignment feature isconfigured to interface with the second guide sleeve to providealignment of the first and second optical fibers.
 12. The connectorsystem of claim 11, wherein: the alignment feature is configured tointerface with the second guide sleeve to provide coarse alignment ofthe first and second optical fibers; and the first guide sleeve isconfigured to interface with the second ferrule to provide finealignment of the first and second optical fibers.
 13. The connectorsystem of claim 10 further including: a guide wall upstanding from thedrive transmission interface; and a groove formed in the guide wall;wherein the groove is configured to interface with the second guidesleeve to provide alignment of the first and second optical fibers. 14.The connector system of claim 10, wherein an end face of the firstoptical fiber extends to a tip portion of the first ferrule; wherein anend face of the second optical fiber extends to a tip portion of thesecond ferrule; further including: a first spring mounted to urge thefirst ferrule into the first sleeve; and a second spring mounted to urgethe second ferrule from the second sleeve into the first sleeve.
 15. Theconnector system of claim 10, wherein the drive transmission interfaceincludes a plurality of drive members; and wherein the instrumentcontroller includes a plurality of driven members.
 16. The connectorsystem of claim 10, wherein the drive transmission interface includes aplurality of drive members; and wherein the instrument controllerincludes a plurality of driven members.
 17. The connector system ofclaim 10, wherein a tip of the first ferrule is configured to align atip of the second ferrule inserted within the first sleeve.